Tripping Over Love: Not Quite Falling
by SemeDesu
Summary: YaoiSlash HarryxDraco Draco tries to make Harry and Ron fall for each other as revenge, and accidentally miscasts the spell. Now he and Harry are falling for each other against their wills. Chapter 4 now up!
1. We meet again

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, mine? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, that was a good one. Thanks.

Author situation: Not even this storyline is mine. This was NekoChan-Chan's fic. But she moved to New York (lucky…) and forgot about it. So now, I'm continuing it. If you don't believe me, go ahead and check her bio out. If you _really_ don't believe me, e-mail her, but good luck getting her to respond! It took me five tries. (meow!) So…I'm re-naming it (You're a great author, but your titles…need work) and writing my own chapters while continuing her storyline. I hope I can live up to your expectations!

So, without further adieu, here is the first chapter of (the newly titled) Tripping Over Love: Not Quite Falling written by NekoChan-Chan.

Harry crossed the barrier between platforms nine and ten at the King's Cross Station in London, and as he did so, platform nine and three-quarters came into view. September first, Harry's favorite day of the year, had come at last, and his sixth year at Hogwarts had just begun. Unlike other students, Harry preferred his time at school to his summer vacation at number four, Privet Drive. This might have something to do with the fact that the Dursleys' believed that making Harry miserable might make him 'normal'. This last summer had been better than the ones before, though, thanks to Mad-Eye Moody's 'influence' on Harry's aunt and uncle. However, Harry was still glad that the school year was starting again. Harry stepped aside from the entrance to the hidden platform just in tome to see Ron Weasley cross the barrier.  
"Hiya, Harry." Ron ran his fingers through his fiery red hair.  
"Shall we, then?" The boys made their way towards the massive train at the platform.  
"Ginny'll be along in a bit. Mum's still blubbering over her 'cause she's a prefect this year."  
"I heard. How's everyone else?"  
"Percy's still the world's biggest git, Fred 'n' George's shop's holding up. You know, the usual." They boarded the train and found Hermione's compartment.  
"Nice seat choice, 'Mione," Ron said sarcastically. "Weren't there any we could actually share with the Slytherins?" Ron was referring to the fact that Draco Malfoy and his goons were sitting in the box directly in front of theirs.  
The truth was, Harry completely agreed with what Ron said, but hearing it said in such a callous tone of voice made him regret it.  
"It's okay, 'Mione. It's not like they'd bother us after what we did to him the last time we were on this train." The friends broke out in laughter at the memory of how Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had been 'improved' by the DA members at the end of their fifth year.  
"This was the only empty room, it's not like I had much choice, Ron." Hermione said as she struggled to stop laughing.  
Their happy memory was interrupted then by the scowling faces of the previously improved Slytherins. It was painfully obvious that they knew what the Gryffindors had been laughing about, and that they hadn't forgotten the humiliation of the situation.  
"Hello Potter. Weasley." He sneered toward Hermione. "Mudblood" he growled through clenched teeth. His tone was exceptionally nasty, even for him. Harry's blood began to boil. How dare he use that term again! Hermione could see the fire in Harry's eyes, and was about to tell him not to let it bother him, when the emerald flames died and were replaced by steely green orbs. Harry adjusted his glasses and glared up at Draco, wearing an expression he'd never borne before. With ice in his voice, he said, "I wouldn't talk about blood if I were you, Malfoy." He looked fierce, as if he was prepared to back up those words with his fists rather than his wand.

Everybody who'd even met a Malfoy could tell that they were dark wizards, and Harry'd seen Lucious Malfoy at the Death Eaters' reunion two years and had encountered him again in the department of mysteries last year. Malfoy blood, while pure, was bad blood.  
"Is that so? Well, much as I'd love to stick around and talk, Potter, I've got better things to do." He was clearly in a hurry to get away from Harry, reluctant as he was to show it.  
"Bloody...What was that, Harry?" Ron asked with a slack-jawed expression.  
"Heh heh. That was a page out of Mad-Eye's book, Ron. Very handy to know." Harry's face was back to normal.  
Ginny burst into the compartment and dropped her trunks. She was out of breath and had clearly been running. "Mum...portal...two seconds left..." She flopped down on the seat next to Harry and across from Hermione.  
The Hogwarts Express began to move, and it jerked slowly forward. "Whew. Glad I made it." Ginny looked very much relieved.  
Draco smoothed back his oiled blonde hair. For a split second, he'd been afraid. Afraid. Of Potter!  
He looked up to see Goyle staring vacantly at him. "And what do you think you're doing, you great lump?"  
Oh yes, he would exact his revenge on Harry Potter. He'd been in Saint Mungo's all summer recovering from those hexes Potter's fan club had used on him. And now...now this. "Disgrace!" His father had yelled at him. He'd suffered. And it was all Potter's fault! The one positive thing that had come from his solitary confinement was that he'd had plenty of time to plan. And plan he had. The golden boy of Hogwarts was about to be tarnished.


	2. Oops

Disclaimer: Nothing in this story is mine. Not even the plot TT 

Chapter 2: Oops.

Draco pulled the book from his trunk. The book that was going to steal Potter's dignity, just as his had been stolen. It opened to the familiar spell that he'd spent the summer learning. From his pocket he pulled a vial containing one red and one black hair, Carefully he removed them.

Crabbe and Goyle, of course, knew nothing of Draco's plan. They might be loyal, but keeping secrets was not their forté. So they watched Draco with a more confused than usual look on their faces.

Draco drew his wand and pointed it toward the short hairs in his palm. Checking the incantation in the book for what felt like the millionth time, he recited the spell that would make Potter and Weasly the laughing stock of Hogwarts. When he finished, he felt a tingling sensation in his hand. /Good, good./ That was supposed to happen. Then where the hairs had been, he felt them burning. In his palm and…around his finger/No…/ A memory flashed through his mind: running his fingers through his hair when he re-entered the car. One of them must have caught on his finger, and he hadn't noticed!

Grim realization spread itself over Draco's face and he fell silent. He let his hand drop, and a single red hair drifted to the floor.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, each more dumbfounded than the other, and then looked back at Draco, who was madly flipping through the pages of the book. His father's book. The book of spells that his father had used to get revenge on his enemies. Draco knew it was hopeless, but some baser instinct wouldn't let him stop until the back cover had been flipped. After all, if a cure existed, there would be a chance that the person afflicted would get his hands on it.

Draco turned the final page, and having found nothing, closed the book. There was no counterspell for the spell he'd just cast.

Cold nothingness enveloped Draco's mind and he fell into a state of belated shock. Crabbe and Goyle reached out to support his limp body.

Meanwhile, in the Griffindor car, the short hairs on the back of Harry's neck tingled and a chilling shiver ran down his spine.

"Whassa matter, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I dunno, Ron. I really don't."

"Whatever, Harry. Hey! Look what's happened to Malfoy!"

The four of them looked through the small window that separated their two cars just in time to see Draco collapse into the arms of his grunts. He was a paler shade of white than normal.

Ron scoffed at Draco's plight. "And he made fun of you for passing out our third year! At least you had a reason."

"Yeah, I guess." But Harry couldn't bring himself to laugh at Malfoy, despite knowing that he would have last year. Actually, he almost felt sorry for him. No, not sorry. Something else. Something unsettling.

It was an uncomfortable ride to Hogwarts for Harry that year.

Author's note: Thanks for reviewing, butterpie and lita-2003. I tried my best to continue the story and make it interesting. I know this chapter is shorter, but I just wanted to get them to Hogwarts. Next time: more. Pinky swear! So, keep reviewing (especially since now it's my very own writing!), and I'll keep writing! Kisses! -SemeDesu


	3. Why can't I help it?

Disclaimer: Not getting paid, not getting fame, and not getting sued.

Tripping Over Love: Not Quite Falling- Chapter 03

Draco woke to find that the Hogwarts Express had reached its final destination. He had an arm slung over both Crabbe's and Goyle's shoulders, and his feet were dangling between them at least six inches above the ground.

He pulled away from the goons and fell awkwardly to the ground, where he brushed himself off and straightened his cloak. He walked hurriedly toward the school, leaving all responsibility for his luggage to the semi-capable hands of Crabbe and Goyle.

When he entered the Great Hall, followed closely by the two trunk-toting lunkheads, he huffed over to the Slytherin table and took his seat very unceremoniously.

As if his current…situation wasn't bad enough, Draco knew that the next few weeks of his life would be filled with torment for passing out on the train. The blonde sighed loudly and buried his face in his hands in an attempt to block out the mental images that were flashing unwarranted through his head of torment and…etcetera. They were most unwelcome.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny took their respective seats at the Gryffindor table. Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table, and the slouched, depressed figure that was Draco Malfoy caught his attention and held it. Something in his chest moved a little quicker, and it was making him very uncomfortable.

"Harry? Whassamatter? Ron asked, wiping a trail of pumpkin juice from his chin. "You've been acting weird ever since the train ride."

"Have I? I hadn't noticed," was all Harry could reply with.

"What's so interesting that you can't pay attention when your friends talk?" Ron peered over Harry's shoulder. "It's just the Slytherins."

"I know. I think I feel sorry for Malfoy or something."

"Why the bloody hell would you be sorry for Malfoy? He laughed at you when you passed out third year, why shouldn't we return the favor now?"

"Ron, just because Harry is nice, doesn't mean you have to be mean." Hermione chimed in.

"No, it's alright, I mean, I'm probably just hungry…and tired…and sick…" Harry was rambling now, but didn't notice. Try as he might to pay attention to the conversations around and with him, Slytherin table was always there in the corner of his eye or the back of his mind.

"You'd have to be to feel sorry for Malfoy!" Ron laughed heartily at his own joke, as did some of the surrounding Gryffindors.

Hermione and even Ginny, to a lesser extent, simply gave him 'the look'. The 'finally decide to grow up so I don't have to baby-sit you anymore if you don't mind' look.

At length, a huge mass of incoming first-years filed almost silently into the front of the Great Hall. The clamor of lively conversation died down at last, and silence filled the impressive room.

The first-years stood silently at the head of the great hall as Professor McGonagall stood up at her seat to make an announcement.

"Attention students," she commanded," In the event of Headmaster Dumbledore's absence this year, I will temporarily be acting as this year's Headmaster. I'd like to introduce you all to the temporary Gryffindor House Head," anticipation was thick in the air, "Rubius Hagrid."

Hagrid stood up and took a bow. A wide assortment of gasps, groans and cheers flooded out from the Hogwarts student body. The loudest cheers coming, of course, from the Gryffindor table.

After the rest of the standard beginning-of-the-year announcements, which we have omitted here for lack of interest, the Sorting began.

You may or may not insert an annoying rhyming song detailing Hogwarts' four Houses here.

All of the House tables filled once again, the feast began. Harry congratulated Hagrid on his new position, as did all of the other students who were pleased at the development, but upon returning to his seat, found that he was, once again, inexplicably drawn towards Draco.

Draco turned his head to glance over his shoulder, as he'd been doing every five or six minutes since taking his seat. He'd yet to catch Potter looking at him, and was secretly both relieved and disappointed. Was it possible that the spell had failed? That something he'd done had caused it to misfire and not work? But, if it had, then what did all of these unwanted, incomprehensible feelings and longings he'd been having mean? No, the spell had worked. He was doomed.

Draco spent the next ten minutes pushing food around on his plate. He'd found that he'd quite lost any appetite he'd had before. He stood up and headed toward the Slytherin common room, but not before glancing once more at the Gryffindor table.

His eyes met Harry's. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to cause both boys to blush, causing Draco to start running in the opposite direction, and Harry to pretend to have been choking on his food.

When Draco at long last reached his common room, it was with gladness that he welcomed the solitude and quiet.

Curling his slight frame up in one of the chairs by the fire, Draco fell asleep; lulled to sleep by memories and thoughts that he found both terrifying and soothing.

Author's note: Hello again! No, I'm not dead. Just…a woman. Anyway, I didn't realize that my spacing was difficult to read, so thank you, ranchan-akari, for telling me. This was a fun chapter to write, and it turned out much better than it had sounded in my mind. More awkward shounen-ai cuteness next chapter, hopefully as a prelude to the _fun _stuff…Oh, and I hope that the mood of this piece will get lighter too. Angst is only fun up to a certain point.


	4. Good morning?

Disclaimer: I am no more the owner of Harry Potter and all of it's affiliated subjects than MTV is capable of producing a movie with a moral. (I love Napoleon, but by watching it seventeen times in one week, you learn nothing more than how to say "idiot!" so that it sounds freakin sweet.) Thank you, and good night! I mean…there's a story here too.

Tripping Over Love: Not Quite Falling

Chapter three: Good morning?

Upon awakening the next morning, Harry felt strangely rested and at ease. He stretched his shoulders out and inched his way into a sitting position, where he discovered the reason why he felt the way he did.

Throwing his hands over the tent-shaped protrusion in his bed, Harry blushed a deep red out of embarrassment. He quickly glanced about to make sure that no one else had seen him. They were all asleep. Taking deep breaths until his excited member calmed down, Harry wondered what had caused this to happen. He'd had wet dreams, but always woke up remembering them in the past. This time, the time that had elapsed between sleeping and waking was blank to him. He could see snippets of the dream, but not enough to clearly identify what had happened.

An eyelash fluttering. A silk sheet. His own hair matted to his face. All of these were present in his mind, but without the detail needed to identify them.

Having regained his composure, Harry stepped out of bed and managed to dress himself.

"Accio schedule," he summoned this year's new schedule to him. He was anxious to see what classes he'd have.

First period: Herbology. A double class with Slytherin.

Normally, the idea of sharing a classroom with the Slytherins made chills run down Harry's spine. This time, it summoned chills somewhere else. The short hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood erect, and his stomach did a backflip. His face flushed and his palms started to sweat.

/Why am I nervous? It's just Herbology. Sure, spending the morning with a bunch of Slytherins is no walk through a park, but I've managed before./

Still, his pulse quickened. He hastily tucked the schedule into a book, and tried to calm down before making his way down to the greenhouse. He didn't feel like eating today.

Draco's morning wasn't much easier. He woke in a cold sweat, with a gasp of horror. After looking around once or twice to make sure that he was alone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

/It was just a dream…/

Even if it was just a dream, though, his subconscious refused to leave it at that.

So it was a dream. You know, they say that dreams are the window to a person's deepest desires.+

/Well they're wrong. No sane part of me would ever desire _that_./ Even in his thoughts, his disdain was clear.

_Some_ part does.+

Draco glanced down.

/Shut up./

Unsure of whether he was more disturbed by the fast that he was arguing with himself, or that he was losing, Draco made his way down to the Herbology greenhouse. There was no sense in worrying about what would happen. Que será, será.

Both boys were in no hurry to get to class, so they took the winding paths that skirted the woods, keeping enough distance between them so that they never saw each other.

The leaves were just beginning to become edged with orange on some of the trees. The wind rustled through them and carried the scent of sweet autumn wind towards the boys.

Harry looked at his watch, and saw that he still had an hour until class started.

/Wow. Time crawls when you're…whatever I feel right now./

He sat down on the side of the path under a tree. A cool breeze swept over his skin, giving him goosebumps. He mussed his hair carelessly before wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. He pulled his knees into his chest and buried his forehead into the folds of his robe. A single tear ran down his cheek, followed by a stream of others.

Draco kicked at a stone before him, moving it along the path he walked. /Damnit. I never thought this would happen to me. _Me_ of all people. Draco Malfoy: the dateless wonder. Rumors I can deal with. Facts…/

/Did I just think that/

Author's notes: Once again, I feel like a horrible author. Bad SemeDesu. BAD! Updates will get more regular once I'm out of school for the summer. For now, I am free time's bitch. The master calls, it says I have a physics final to study for. Review, and I'll try to actually make story progress in the next chapter! XXXOOO -SemeDesu


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